Compared with the domestic passenger car market, commercial vehicle parts and components have always maintained a relatively self-sufficient state. However, this seemingly calm natural economy is facing increasing challenges from multinational component giants.
Infiltration into commercial vehicle systems
On November 5, Yutong Group and ZF signed a strategic cooperation agreement. According to ZF executives, the signing of the strategic cooperation agreement is to jointly create passenger car products that are optimized for configuration and can create greater value for customers.
On September 25, at the 62nd Commercial Vehicle Expo in Hannover, Germany, ZF signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Foton Motor. In the future, the two companies will develop synchronously on truck transmissions.
He Hongbin, Sales Director of Qijiang Gear Transmission Co., Ltd., told reporters: “Now, many truck customers will ask when buying a car, is the engine Cummins? This shows that the foreign brands are increasingly recognized. ZF developed commercial vehicle transmission At present, the price is too high. With the deepening of localization and the background of international brands, it will have a huge impact on China's commercial vehicle parts industry."
In his view, multinational component companies represented by ZF are eroding the supporting systems for commercial vehicle parts in China, and their speed of entry is accelerating. "As far as I know, ZF's transmissions have been fitted to passenger cars on the BRT line in Beijing. ZF’s approach appears to be smarter and more subtle than pulling into Eaton, and it is pulling together the entire vehicle company. Natural risk is small." He Hongbin said.
An FAW Group official responsible for commercial vehicle technology research and development told the reporter that ZF's impact on the commercial vehicle supporting system is not very large at present. The cost of the manual transmission they developed was higher than that of domestic equivalent products of 20,000 to 30,000 yuan. As for the automatic transmission, the price is harder to be accepted by the domestic market.
"For commercial vehicle support companies, they are facing an increasingly dangerous situation. Multinational companies spent more than 20 years to complete the layout of the passenger vehicle market in China, and now it is the turn of commercial vehicles. This is a trend that requires vigilance.†Wang Shengtang, vice president and secretary general of China Gear Professional Association, told reporters.
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Is it a trap or an olive branch?
A reporter who participated in the signing ceremony of Yutong and ZF's strategic cooperation described his observations as follows: “A Yutong middle-level leader told me that the leading party of this strategic cooperation is ZF, and they are very active in this. Of course, the good vision they have painted for us is really attractive."
It is reported that ZF’s promise is to assist Yutong Group in upgrading its product technology. On the other hand, ZF has a relatively complete global marketing network, which is very attractive to Yutong, who wants to show itself in the international market.
Industry sources told reporters: "In cooperation with multinational parts companies, we can make full use of its overseas service network to enhance the service level of commercial vehicles in China, so as to enhance product image and expand sales."
However, when China's passenger vehicle market opened its doors to the country, it seemed that it had lost sight of some short-term interests. An industry insider once told reporters that although China’s passenger vehicle joint venture has 50 percent of the shares, the foreign party actually dominates the discourse of core technology, product support, and key interests.
Li Qibai, marketing manager of Jingzhou Henglong Auto Parts Manufacturing Co., Ltd. once told reporters that multinational parts and components companies will gain greater benefits in zero-strategy strategic cooperation. Taking ZF as an example, the establishment of a strategic alliance with Foton Motor can help companies establish a more stable relationship between the zero and the whole, stabilize and expand the market share in China, and gain more experience and data on technical cooperation with domestic vehicle companies. Improve and optimize the ZF products' adaptability to the Chinese market.
Parts companies become diluted "stuffing"
"I have no objection to cooperation and no objection to joint ventures, but it is unacceptable for giant multinationals to suppress the development of China's independent parts and components industry. This is not only the interests of the industry, but also the interests of the country and the interests of the nation." During the cooperation, Wang Shengtang told reporters.
Wang Shengtang said: "Rising raw material prices, vehicle companies continue to drive down the price of parts and components for their own interests, so parts and components companies have become thinner and more and more thin. Foreign parts giants see through this point, to the Chinese car The various market segments of the industry have penetrated, and this time they have come to the commercial vehicle support system. Our commercial vehicle companies need to give local component companies a room to grow."
A person from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers also told reporters that Japanese auto companies attach great importance to the construction of supporting systems. He gave an example. Several major automobile companies in Japan jointly supported and nurtured a number of powerful parts and components companies. It is necessary to know that supporting companies without OEM support cannot survive.
Wang Shengtang very much agrees with the idea of ​​"autonomous and joint support." It is of practical significance to enhance the supporting capabilities, collaborative development capabilities, and independent innovation capabilities of local parts and components companies through the joint support of autonomous vehicle companies.
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